Study: Help desks are understaffed

This probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone who works in an IT department: The help desks charged with supporting users need some help of their own.

The ratio of IT employees to users is about 40% smaller than IT managers would like it to be, according to a recent survey by research firm Robert Half Technology. On average, the companies surveyed had one tech staffer for every 112 non-IT employee.

When asked what the ideal ratio would be, the average answer was 65 to 1.

The fact that there’s a wide gap between the ideal situation and reality shouldn’t come as a surprise to all the busy IT employees out there and the people in charge of managing them.

It also shouldn’t be surprising that smaller companies (those with 100-249 employees) are struggling the most reported the widest gap between real and ideal staffing levels.

What can IT managers do about it? One step Robert Half recommends: bringing in additional part-time or temporary help during the busiest times for the help desk.

Top Trending Resources

About IT Manager Daily

IT Manager Daily, part of the Catalyst Media Network, provides the latest IT and business technology news for IT professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day’s headlines, IT Manager Daily delivers actionable insights, helping IT execs understand what technology trends mean to their business.